I reached out to Ms. Melamed and asked if she’d be willing to discuss the book.* She graciously said yes.

Dabney: I was on vacation with my large extended family when I read Gather the Daughters. It was a fascinating yet challenging book to read while surrounded by my clamorous and close clan. The book is… well, let me ask you. How would you describe this book?

It’s time once again to look ahead to the books we’re looking forward to getting stuck into next month, and as the nights are drawing in, I’m sure we’re all looking for reads to help us curl up and forget the encroaching cold. AAR staffers have chosen quite a diverse bunch of titles as those we’re most looking forward to in October – some big names and favourite authors (Jackie Ashenden, Karen Harper, Elizabeth Hoyt, Eloisa James) have new books out this month, and maybe our picks of some less familiar names might encourage you to give something new a try.

I admit, I’m not quite convinced by the set up for this that we glimpsed at the end of Duke of Pleasure, but what the hell – this is the final full-length Maiden Lane novel and as such marks the end […]

The Historicals prompt in the TBR Challenge is my Busman’s Holiday, but it can nonetheless be quite difficult to choose a book from the many still sitting unread on my Kindle. In the end, I decided to go for something I was pretty certain would be a winner and picked up Emily Larkin’s My Lady Thief, a standalone title that was first published as The Unmasking of a Lady in 2010, under her Emily May pen-name. Every book I’ve read by this author has proved to be extremely enjoyable and well-written; she creates attractive, well-rounded characters and puts them in interesting situations and her romances are always well-developed and laced with sexual tension. My Lady Thief most ably continues that impressive track record.

Miss Arabella Knightley is beautiful, poised, intelligent, self-assured and the granddaughter of an earl – a most eligible parti were it not […]

Summer 2017 will always be my Summer of Singh. I started a serious binge when I read Nalini Singh’s first Psy-Changeling book, Slave to Sensation, back in May, and just a week ago I finished Silver Silence, the latest release. That’s sixteen novels, not counting the short story collections, which I also read.

I’ve gone on binges before, but this one was different. I never burned out on Singh the way I’ve done before. In order to keep a series from feeling formulaic and predictable, I usually have to intersperse the books with reads by other authors and genres. In some cases, even that doesn’t help, as the authors themselves lose the spark that made their early books so engaging.

I admit that I love to read romance novels for pretty much one reason – the swoon-worthy heroes. Be they Navy SEALs, roguish pirates, Scottish warriors or powerful tycoons, their confidence and swagger and charm all draw me in and allow me to escape to a fantasy world where the good guy will always save the day.

Given all of the recent turmoil in our world, what with hurricanes and political tempests galore, it’s tempting to escape into those fantasies as much as possible. But every once in a while, I’m reminded that real heroes walk among us. These are the guys and gals who put their lives on the line every day to help a stranger. They go in when others are rushing out. They serve as real-life examples to our sons and daughters of the best that humanity has to offer.

Below are photos of these super folks in action. We tip our hats and thank them profusely for their selfless heroism. And, if they don’t mind, we may do a […]

Back in the dim but not so distant past – more specifically, December 2016 – when I was choosing my favourite books of the year, I realised I’d been lucky enough to find no less than three new authors whose books had captivated me and turned them immediately into “must read” authors. One of those was British author Virginia Heath whose début, That Despicable Rogue was a thoroughly enjoyable, funny, romantic and sexy story that was so accomplished it was hard to believe it was her first published work. Over the past year-and-a-bit since Rogue’s publication, Ms. Heath has published five more titles – three of them standalones and the other two the first duo in her ongoing Wild Warriners series; and September sees the publication of her seventh book – another standalone – a seasonal title, His Mistletoe Wager.

We’re excited for the premiere of Outlander tomorrow! Here’s a column we wrote about Sam Heughan, the lovely actor who plays Jamie Fraser.

I’ve been thinking about the Golden Globes, which followed the Emmys in failing to nominate Sam Heughan forOutlander (the show was nominated for Best Drama, and both Caitriona Balfe as Claire and Tobias Menzies as Black Jack scored acting nominations). In criticizing this omission, most people point to the last few episodes of the season which, without getting spoilery, contain emotional and violent scenes which are the classic route to awards attention.

I would also have liked to have seen Heughan nominated, but for a totally different reason. In fact, I haven’t even seen the last two episodes yet. I thought Heughan did something exceptional long before those episodes – and that was to satisfy female viewers with his depiction of a beloved romantic hero.

People think women are simple. Throw a good-looking man on a screen, […]

What stories would you tell if you could? Where would your mind take you, if you let it? Five of the top voices in romance dare you to explore the most distant corners of their imaginations as they test the limits of storytelling and break the boundaries of what even they thought possible, teasing and tormenting you shamelessly as they go.

But there’s a twist—the author of each story is a secret at the time of release. They’re each plumbing the depths of the human heart and mind in ways they’ve never attempted before. Taking you high, bringing you low, until you will be hardpressed to guess who wrote what. Can you tell? Want us to?

Our lips are sealed…for now.

With this tease of a blurb, Emma Barry, Meredith Duran, J.A. Rock, Erin Satie, and Sherry Thomas gave us Sight Unseen, a collection of anonymously written novellas. They each crafted something they had been scared to write – […]

Photographers capture moments in time, whether they photograph people, events, nature or objects. Their photos evoke emotions. A baby or a puppy makes you smile. The ocean crashing against the shore fills you with wonder. A war image might make you cry or strike out in anger. While a picture might be worth a thousand words, it’s the feeling you get when you see the photo that provides that connection, that makes you care.

Writers do something similar. We use words to create images and feelings. Sure, we can tell the reader what is happening—John walked across the room—but it’s the emotions we evoke that keeps that reader turning the page—John’s footsteps echoed across the floorboards in the empty house as he waited for his wife to return. One of the first things we are taught is to “show, don’t tell” and the words we choose help us to draw the reader into […]

Are indie erotic romances and erotica no longer welcome in the Barnes & Noble Nook store? Are some of them okay? Apparently, it depends on what day of the week it is.

Last week, several erotic romance authors reported that that Barnes & Noble’s Nook Press had suspended their accounts. Initially, it was reported that the books being removed were those that broke the content policy – that is, erotica about incest, rape, bestiality, necrophilia, or pedophilia. As with any of these breaking news stories, the truth always takes time to bubble to the surface. In other words… That was far from the truth. Author David Gaughran reported that authors of “regular erotica” were being targeted – not just writers of the more … niche … stories.

Hearing from lots of authors who got this email from Nook Press. “Regular” erotica too, apparently, rather than some of the… other stuff. https://t.co/FIBBkMh5AF